The Female Fashion Power List: Tabitha Simmons on Being the Queen of Shoes

*All this month, glamour.com is spotlighting incredible female designers—from the new class of leading women (in our March issue, on stands now!), to the innovators shaking things up, to the iconic names headlining Fashion Month. Follow along on our instagram @glamourmag, and join us on March 8, International Women's Day, in wearing your favorite brands made by women. *After generations of lone female designers (Donna! Miuccia!), there are now so many women creating such great things. Meet a member of spring's class of leaders in every category, here with a woman who inspires her, in our Female Fashion Power List.

Want to know what it's like to walk in Tabitha Simmons' shoes? You'll have to sprint: In addition to running her seven-year-old accessory line, the New York City-based Brit is a contributing fashion editor at Vogue, stylist for both Dolce & Gabbana and Tory Burch, and a mom. The day of her Glamour photo shoot, she had already been at the airport and her kids' school play. No wonder the shoes she designs are as comfortable as they are fashion forward. And, for the record, she has a lot: "I've lost count at this point," she says. "Probably around 500."

"Women are really starting to make their mark—it's a common thread through all industries. For a long time there were mostly males making shoes. It's good to see this influx of women, because, talking personally, I have to wear my shoes and function in them. I'm a mother of two, a stylist—I test-drive all the products."

On that test-driving:

"When I first began designing, I did very, very high platforms. Then you start wearing them, and you end up realizing, Oh, I need a chunkier heel or a flat.' There was a time when seeing flats on the runway would have been a shock and horror. Everything had to be so extreme in height. Now the trend is much flatter."

On her design aesthetic:

"Feminine with a touch of English quirk, just because of my background. It's also timeless. I get very excited seeing women wearing designs we did a couple of seasons ago and they still look really current."

On why she does shoes:

"Being a stylist, I always felt that the shoe told the story. You can have the same dress, and when you put it with a boot or a platform, the woman changes. A new pair of shoes can refresh everything."

__On designers supporting other designers:

__"I think there's a support system between male and female designers. When I used to work with [Alexander] McQueen, he'd send [John] Galliano flowers or Stella [McCartney] funny balloons."

On the best career advice she's received:

"When I was just starting out, I rang up Stefano [Gabbana] to tell him that I wanted to do a line of shoes and to get his blessing, and he was so brilliant. He said, 'Just be yourself'."

On work-life balance:

"I was brought up to believe that you could have children, have a career, and do many different things. So I think it's exciting that people are much more open to that now."

Fashion Editor: Jessica Sailer Van Lith

For more extras from our March issue, see cover star, Gwyneth Paltrow's video on style and more: